Locked up in cowshed by neighbour, Dalit boy dies by suicide in Rohru

A 12-year-old Scheduled Caste (SC) boy was reportedly forced to end his life after being tormented due to the alleged practice of casteism in Rohru subdivision of Shimla district a few days ago. The police have registered a case under relevant sections, including under the Prevention of Atrocities Act, of the law against the accused, who has got interim bail from court.

According to Suresh Banta, uncle of the deceased, the boy had walked into the house of an upper caste person in his neighbourhood when he was caught by a woman and locked up in a cowshed for “defiling her house”. The boy, however, managed to escape and rushed back home. At home, the boy reportedly consumed some poisonous substance. He was taken to the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Shimla, where he died a day later.

Pranav Chauhan, DSP, Rohru, said that there were no eyewitness but the police were working on gathering scientific evidence to get to the bottom of the case. Banta alleged that the woman told the boy that his parents would have to offer her a goat so that that she could consecrate her defiled house. “The boy was under a lot of stress after he was locked up in the cowshed and a goat was demanded from his parents. He narrated the entire incident to his mother after consuming the poisonous substance,” he added.

The boy’s death and the alleged circumstances behind it have deeply disturbed the local Scheduled Caste community, which was seeking strict action against the accused. “The practice of casteism is rampant in our area. A dog can enter the house of an upper caste person but a Scheduled Caste person defiles their home. It’s unfortunate but the practice of casteism is routine here,” said Vinod Singhta, treasurer of the Koli Samaj of the area.

Sanjay Chauhan, state secretary of the CPM, has termed the incident as unfortunate and shameful. “If the 12-year-old boy died due to casteism, there can’t be anything more shameful. It warrants stern action so that there’s no recurrence of such a shameful incident,” he added.